Posted for Caramia - TV/VCR safety

Admin · Jul 26, 2003

I am planning a very long car trip with two children. I have been looking at a product that attaches a 9 inch tv/vcr between the two front seats. The tv/vcr fits into a case that has straps that attach to the two front seats.

Do you know if this product is safe?

bazanna · Jul 26, 2003

i think i would follow the carseat rule, that is, any aftermarket product that doesn't come from or is not ok'ed by the manufacturer is not safe. if it's been crash tested by the vehicle's manufacturer and they say it's ok then i'd be ok with it.

SafeDad · Jul 27, 2003

It depends-

The answer depends a lot on how well you think those straps can withstand the forces in a crash. If it is a picutre tube TV rather then an LCD screen, then it could easily have 500 pounds of force or more in a severe frontal crash. If it does break loose, it could seriously injure an occupant.

I have a bag VCR with a small LCD screen. I mounted it with straps behind one of the front seats, wedged into the space in front of my daughter's rear-facing carseat. I then attached the lightweight LCD screens to the headrests. You can see it here:

http://www.pbase.com/image/16936168.jpg

I think the risk of the bag section becoming a projectile is much lower this way, though it would be even better to put it under a seat. The LCD screens won't become a projectile, but they are still a small risk that the child's head could hit them in a severe crash.

For these reasons, we only use the video system on long trips. I don't have it in the vehicle for day-to-day use. There is certainly added risk depending on how you install it, but only you can decide how much risk you will accept...